The team of the “Intercultural Competencies Development for Women Engineers” project held a panel discussion on the challenges facing female engineers in the engineering profession , funded by the Culture Network for Sustainable and Comprehensive Peace (CUSP) , and implemented in partnership between engineers at Northumbria University and the Islamic University in Gaza.
The panel discussion was conducted electronically via the Google Meet application, in the presence of: Engineer Amani Al-Maqadma – the project manager, Professor Dr. Hatem Al-Aydi – a member of the project team, and a group of male and female academics from various disciplines in the College of Engineering in the two universities.
In turn, the Moqaddam engineer welcomed the attendees, introduced the project and its objectives, and indicated that the panel discussion is the first of the activities implemented in this project , which aims to increase cross-cultural awareness among engineering colleges in the north and south of the world, discuss the challenges facing females in the engineering profession, and exchange personal experiences. Addressing the common issues facing women and placing them at the required level in the fields of engineering.
Next, both groups moved to both universities, to start the panel discussion separately.
For his part, Prof. Al-Aydi explained the technique of the story-telling circuit in which they exchange stories about the challenges and risks they face in the engineering profession, and opened a discussion panel between academics by asking them questions and then taking notes.
After completing the special panel discussion between male and female academics in the same university, both participants from the two universities networked and got to know each other, and discussed the most important challenges they face in teaching within the College of Engineering.
The seminar concluded that there are common challenges for male and female academics in engineering colleges in Gaza, Palestine, and Newcastle, Britain, especially with regard to the difficulty resulting from gender differences and the different roles of women. However, these challenges differ in their details due to the different surrounding environment in Gaza than in Newcastle, Britain.
It is worth noting that another panel discussion will be held during the month of May to complete work on studying challenges and mechanisms for improving the multicultural capabilities and competencies of academies.